Revisiting Kony 2012

Today in Intro to Media we’re going to talk about Kony 2012, touted as the most watched human rights video of all time.

For discussion:

Naked meltdown: Jason Russell, the man behind Kony 2012, freaks out on a San Diego street corner. He later explained in this video:

My mind betrayed me and I was hospitalized. If you’re put in the position to give answers to every question a dozen times over, your mind starts to lose track of where you are, if you’ve slept, who’s for you, who’s against you.

Invisible Children, the non-profit organization that produced the Kony campaign, reported $26,486,644 in revenue in 2012, according to the group’s Form 990.

Kickstriker, a parody of Kickstarter, started its own campaign to Capture Kony. The website says donors who pledge $50,000 or more will get one of Kony’s teeth. The site cautions: “Since it is not known how many teeth Joseph Kony has, rewards at this level are subject to availability.” Pledge $1 million or more and you will get Kony’s skull, provided he is killed while resisting justice.

In November 2013, AFP news agency reported that officials in the Central African Republic were negotiating with Kony. AFP quoted CAR leader Michel Djotodia as saying:

Joseph Kony wants to come out of the bush. We are negotiating with him.

A spokesman for Djotodia later told the BBC that Kony was in the Central African town of Nzoka and had some 7,000 followers with him, including women and children.
Kony was born in Uganda and is in his early 50s. He was thought to have as many as 88 wives in 2007. See interview with Kony here.
Reuters said BBC Africa security correspondent Moses Rono said Kony was in poor health, suffering from an unspecified illness, and was fighting to avoid armed gangs hoping to cash in on the U.S. government’s $5 million reward for his capture.